tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5968119896288127912.post885663936845376286..comments2023-08-23T08:27:09.890-07:00Comments on Writing in the Spirit: Where is God?Gerald Schiffhorsthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16657701771312055596noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5968119896288127912.post-54429178420490373722011-08-17T10:00:17.078-07:002011-08-17T10:00:17.078-07:00Well said. Recently a friend of mine mentioned gr...Well said. Recently a friend of mine mentioned greed and money wasted with respect to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. <br /><br />It saddened me, because whether he'd ever been there or not, he missed the point of having that building be so glorious and grand and located over "the tomb of the Apostle," that apostle being, of course, the impetuous Peter.<br /><br />Many people don't realize that the "Circus" where Peter was martyred once occupied much of the space now covered by the present-day basilica.<br /><br />Every time I've been in that church, I've felt a sense of the sacred like nowhere else. Turn almost any corner and the interested observer or seeker will find some aspect that evokes within a sense of God's presence and awe. <br /><br />From the cherubs who hold the massive Holy Water fonts, to the red disc on which Charlemange was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas day in the year 800, to the massive piers that support the dome and the statues and relics within them (especially the enormous Veronica who seems to be reaching right out toward the observer with her cloth), the statue of Peter with the foot worn by millions of visitors' hands that caressed it, to the beautiful Bernini angels that flank the tabernacle in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (which is reserved exclusively for prayer)--I could go on, the aforementioned are not necessarily most important: the Pieta, the Papal altar, the Cathedra at the rear wall, the stautes of the four great Doctors of the Church are of great importance in my mind--it's difficult to imagine a thoughtful believer who doesn't become slack-jawed at what he or she encounters.<br /><br />You are correct, Jerry. God is present in cathedrals, basilicas, and churches that contain the Blessed Sacrament, of course, but when He is also in the heart of the visitor.Ned Kesslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01187039953202486033noreply@blogger.com